Lobster Ravioli, Lemongrass Bisque, Salmon Roe
Summer sweetness meets briney pop—a Cornish love letter in pasta
Pulled this together one July when the lobster pots came in heavy and the lemongrass was singing at the farmers' market. It's the kind of thing you make when you've got decent shellfish and time on your hands—no shortcuts, no apologies. The salmon roe adds a little pop of the Atlantic at the end.
How to Cook It
- 01
Kill and prepare the lobster
Chill the lobster in the freezer for 15 minutes to stun it, then spike it quickly through the head with a sharp knife. Split lengthways, remove the meat from the tail and claws, chop into rough 1cm pieces. Keep the head and shell—you'll need them for flavour.
~10 min - 02
Make a quick lobster bisque
Crush the lobster shells and head with your fist. Melt half the butter in a heavy pot, toss in the shells and let them toast for 3–4 minutes until they smell sweet. Pour in the white wine, scrape the bottom, then add your fish stock and the lemongrass stalks (bruised). Simmer 12 minutes, strain, return to pot, stir in cream, taste, adjust salt. You want it copper-coloured and tasting of sea and grass.
~20 min - 03
Stuff the ravioli
Mix the chopped lobster meat with a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. Lay out 8 pasta squares. Dot a teaspoon of mixture onto four of them, wet the edges with water, lay the blank squares on top, seal tight with your fingertips, press out any air. You're looking for neat, tight parcels—no leaks.
~10 min - 04
Cook the ravioli
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil (it should taste like the sea). Drop the ravioli in gently; they'll sink, then bob to the surface after about 2 minutes. Let them float for another minute, then fish them out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper. Don't overcrowd the pot.
~5 min - 05
Plate and finish
Warm four bowls. Spoon a pool of bisque into each, lay two ravioli in the middle, finish with a knob of cold butter melting over the top and a scatter of salmon roe. Grind a pinch of fleur de sel over it. Eat it hot, fast, without fuss.
~3 min
“Shallow bowl, warm. Bisque first—it should be smooth, pourable, a living orange-red. Ravioli sit proud in the middle. The roe goes on last, just before service, so it stays popping. No garnish needed; the bisque, butter, and roe do the talking. Eat it in two bites if you're greedy, three if you want to taste it.”
First spoon: hot bisque, sweet lobster, whisper of lemongrass. The ravioli breaks and releases tender meat into warm stock. Second spoonful, the salmon roe pops—a tiny burst of brine, a counterpoint. The butter melts into the bisque and softens the whole thing into something almost luxurious. Not pretentious. Just good.
Swap the lobster for 200g of hand-dived scallop or king prawn (still local, still gorgeous), or go full plant—roast 200g of diced courgette and spring onion with a pinch of saffron, fold in 50g of soft tofu blitzed with lemon zest and nutritional yeast. For the bisque: replace cream with 100ml of oat milk, amp the lemongrass to four stalks, add 50ml of vegetable stock and a squeeze of lemon at the end. Salmon roe swap: use capers or fried shallot crisps for that briny pop. The ravioli will sing—you've just lost nothing.
Mineral, saline, cuts through the bisque's richness without flattening the lobster's sweetness
Briney, dry, local spirit—pairs like they were made for each other
Local, crisp, gentle carbonation cuts through cream without straining the palate
Slight tannin, fizz, acidity—mimics wine's job without the alcohol
- ·Don't skip the lemongrass toast—those shells are liquid gold, don't waste them
- ·Salmon roe bruises if you stir too hard; fold it in gently or scatter at the last second
- ·If your ravioli split in the water, fish them out, eat them anyway—they still taste like summer
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